This is what my realtor told me- is it true?

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tulip_IHB

tulip_IHB

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We want to make an offer on a house....I was told by my realtor, that once the offer is accepted, and we decided to back out for no reason...we can do it within 17 days without losing our deposit. Is this true?

We have 17 days for due deligence without any cause to back out of the offer.
 
That is correct. You normally have 17 days to complete your due diligence. However, the seller and buyer can agree to a longer or shorter time frame in the offer. Once your due diligence period is over and you back out, you loose your deposit.
 
QuailHillRenter,

Did you buy a house already? So, you can back out for no reason within the 17 days due diligence without losing your deposit? Is there anything else I should be aware of with the offer contract?
 
It's true tulip. The 17-day buyer contingency removal period is the standard in CAR (Cal Association of Realtors) purchase contracts. QHR is right. It can be agreed to a shorter or longer period via the purchase agreement as well.

If you back out, you are likely to pay your share of escrow costs if they were to be split according to the purchase contract.

I was in escrow on a Tustin Field home in the summer and terminated the transaction around day 10 or so. Cost me the appraisal fee, inspection fee, and $200 for the escrow cancellation fee.
 
We made a low ball offer which was not accepted. Interestingly that house just fell out of escrow. Given the market conditions, and thanks to IHB, we have decided to sit on the fence a little longer.

As for the offer contract, your realtor should be able to lay everything out for you. I think items 2.I and 2.J in the purchase agreement deal with the 17 day contingency period. My advice would be to have your realtor explain each item in detail. But to answer your question, yes you can back out within 17 days as long as you have not signed a removal of contingency form.

BTW, where are you planning to buy? And what are you offering per sq. ft?
 
tulip,

If you do get into escrow on something, I suggest finding and using your own inspector vs. someone your realtor recommends. Many realtors have inspectors they use frequently. As the realtor's compensation is based on closing a transaction, using an inspector of theirs personally makes me uncomfortable. I worry that things might get overlooked for the sake of moving a transaction forward.

When we were looking hard this summer, I did some research on inspectors and would highly recommend a guy name Steve Lottatore. Here's a link to his web site:

http://www.biltriteinspect.com/

I have used two different inspectors and he was the best by far. I chose him because he was, at the time, one of only around ten "Master Certified" inspectors operating in Orange County. He was close the cheapest in terms of pricing of the master certified inspectors I contacted at the time as well.

The primary governing organization for inspectors I believe is CREIA. You "find an inspector" via their web site:

http://creia.findlocation.com/
 
Ipo,

Thanks for the info, and you are correct about using our realtor's inspector. We never intend to use our realtor's inspector, I will check out your reference.

We are looking in Fountain Valley area. We are looking at around $ 240 for sq ft.
 
BK,

One other thing that my brother brought up and it got us thinking too....

If we brought the place with 10% down...our mortgage with HOA comes to $2500 a month, not counting property tax. He questions us....will we be able to rent it out for that amount...and the answer is probably not.

My contention is...buy a place where we are comfortable living in it and continue with payment for however the loan will be.

What do you think?
 
"Wow $240/sf. There is nothing like that in Irvine. One can not even get an old condo at that price. "

Not true bk. A bank owned place in College Park just sold for $250/sf. $590K for 2350sf. It's in Irvine. Thrashed and needs work, but in Irvine nonetheless.
 
tulip,

Buying decisions are so multi-faceted and very personal, I wouldn't want to comment on your situation.

Personally, if I found a house I really wanted, planned to stay there for the long haul, and could keep my monthly spending on housing to 28% of my gross income on a 30-year fixed mortgage product, I would buy it in a heartbeat. Prices could fall to whatever but if I was going to be in the place for 20-30 years, it would be paid off anyway.
 
949mom, we made an offer on a property in Northpark. 20 Silhouette looks like a nice property but way over our budget. We are looking at something between $1.1M to $1.3M.

I am hoping properties in Quail Hill will come down to a more reasonable level soon. Quail Hill, along with Turtle Ridge, are way overpriced compared to other neighborhoods in Irvine. I was counting on the recent increase in Quail Hill foreclosures to start bringing down the rest soon.

For now we have decided to wait a little longer till properties like 20 Silhouette are selling for more like $350 per sq. ft. But it looks like we might end up buying in Quail Hill after all because of the schools.
 
QHR - Did you notice the 139 Treehouse price reduction in QH?

http://redfin.com/stingray/do/printable-listing?listing-id=1276946

139 Treehouse Irvine, CA 92603

Price: $1,199,999

Buy with Redfin and Save $24,000*

Beds:

5

Baths:

5

Sq. Ft.:

3,049

$/Sq. Ft.:

$394

Lot Size:

-

Type:

Single Family Residence

Style:

Contemporary

Year Built:

2003

Stories:

Two Levels

View(s):

City Lights, Hills, Has View

Area:

Quail Hill

County:

Orange

MLS#:

S511977

Status:

Active

On Redfin:

113 days

icon_pq_unsold.gif
Unsold in 90+ days

On the view side. .Gourmet Gas (5 burner cooktop) Granite kitchen. Stainless steel appliances. .2 convection ovens+microwave. .Enormous walk in pantry. .. Giant family roomm/cozy fireplace. Downstairs bedroom w/ full bath. .. Wood floors thru out downstairs. .Extra lg. lgrm & DR. 2nd floor plush carpet. Fabulous master/retreat(or 5th bedrm)Separate oval tub & big stall shower. 3/4 bds. up+loft. The builder states plan 3 is 3049 Sq ft plan 2 is 2841 sq. ft. $275 mo. mello Great Quiet location. highly upgraded. Close to award winning Alderwood school. Near shopping center, fwys #405, 133, 241, 261 and 5. Close to 3 assoc. pools, spas, tot lots, tennis cts. and more.
 
Thanks Anonymous. I had been tracking Treehouse for a while, till I actually went to take a look.

I agree with Stuff It. Treehouse has practically no backyard. Whatever they have, its more of a patio than a garden. Properties on Weathervane and Treehouse that are on the view side all have very small back yards.

I would rather go for something on Bottlebrush, Tearose, or Capeberry if I want a view. Waiting for the prices to drop a little more as those properties are still way over priced.
 
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